A World of Blind Color
by HoshisamaValmor
Summary: Su and Lin teach Toph to see the world in a different manner.


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The girls were paiting. The strong scent of ink sprinkled the air even with the open windows carrying the soft late afternoon breeze inside the house. Toph caught the low cling when the brush grazed the brim of the water flask. Tapping on it to remove the excess, twice. Lin. She always did that to avoid unintentionally thicker lines. A second later, the hair brush scraped the surface of the paper. A similar series of movements started to overlap, clumsier and more spontaneous, as Su worked on her own paiting.

It was good they were entertained. The day had been long enough and she didn't feel like she could summon the necessary strength to be too patient.

"Hello, girls."

Lin and Su echoed their welcome greetings, refreshing excitement vibrating on the youngest in particular, but Lin sounded satisfied as well. Their painting session was going well, then. Lin would be groaning otherwise.

"How did work go?"

"Tiresome." To say the least.

"Oh," Lin's tone dropped.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She was lying.

"We were hoping you would join us. Just for a bit," Su explained, less concerned with masking her words. Both girls took turns on whom would be more straightforward or more compliant to Toph's general lack of patience. Apparently, it was Su's turn. "We spent the whole afternoon talking about it."

"But it's alright. And it wasn't the whole afternoon, we've been painting just for a bit. You need to rest."

"You could try to show us how you see things!" Su suggested cheerfully, meeting Toph's chuckle.

"The guys used to try to convince me that too back in the day. I don't think so."

"But we're your daughters!" she insisted, unbreakable spirit and resolve of a six year old.

"It would be nice," Lin's voice added quietly. "I mean, there's things we see everyday that you really can't tell are even there."

"Ah, I doubt it."

"I mean, maybe things look different from when you see with seismic sense."

Ready to turn their request down, Toph caught herself considering her words suddenly. If there was one thing requests involving drawing always had meant, it were laughts. Everyone laughing at Sokka's apparently hilarious sketches (which to her were always great. That comment had brought quite a few laughts too back then), Katara doodling what they called 'pretty girly girls' and Aang adding the ocasional mustache or some silly thing over them, judging from how the two doofs would giggle between themselves before Katara scolded them. Zuko never joined them as far as she recalled - she would have remembered if he had. The only similar situation had been quite more recently, when everyone signed some official document upon the establishment of Republic City. Or signed a first draft. Something on paper. Whatever. Regardless, Aang and Zuko had requested what made turns of a first United Republic Council to sign it ( _'made turns of a first United Republic Council'_ because they added her in it). Toph had felt the paper scraping the table as it was extended in her direction, and they had had to explain to her what they meant by the action. They wanted her to sign it too. Toph frowned at the request - thought about reminding them she couldn't see - but to hurry the ordeal, she picked the brush and waved it around.

Obviously, it had resulted in a few muffled laughs, Zuko included. Everyone thanked her.

The truth was she hadn't had much time or patience for the girls lately. And she _did_ need a laugh today. It would be nice to give them something funny and laugh like they used to before.

"Hand me that, then."

"But be serious!" Lin said, nearly jumping. The surprise of hearing Toph oblige to their request betrayed her previous attempt at hiding the excitement. "Don't just throw the brush around, we meant you to show us for real!"

Correctly assuming that was what she intended to do, Lin chuckled happily when Toph awkwardly held the brush in a more correct position.

"So what do you want me to draw?"

"Let's start with something simple! Like a tree!" Su suggested, helping her hand to hold the paper sheet in place as Toph found the ink bottle and dipped the brush. She felt one drop fall to the sheet, precisely what Lin normally avoided so carefully.

Dissatisfied to begin with and twisting her nose slightly, Toph lowered the tip of the brush somewhere on the paper, the center it felt like, smashing the hair against the surface and probably smudging too much ink around. She picked it up from there and doodled through the page, first downwards, trying to zig zag the roots like they were. She then moved the brush back to the stale, or she hoped it was, and upwards, before starting to twist it around in tendril-like branches and leaves. The tops of the trees were always so intricate and busy with birds and ants and ladybugs and little light bugs that would take flight at the minimum twitch, which made it hard for Toph to tell what they were. Most likely butterflies or something like that. Tree tops always felt more busy than roots because of that maybe - she could always feel and get a hold of every little animal underground or on the surface, but up there they were always coming and going.

The girls were smiling, holding their breaths as if it would be enough to set Toph off her task. Halfway through the mess she was smudging as the tree top, the brush started to graze the paper harshly. She probably wasted all the ink in it already.

"That's a tree."

"It's recognizable!"

Toph frowned, moving her face up to Su and back at the paper.

"It is?"

"The tree tops are always hard for me to paint," Lin said. "I normally just paint the fluffy outline and that's it."

"There's a fluffy outline?" She wouldn't really call the hundreds of leaves and branches as fluffy.

"It looks like it from a distance, specially on summer. Because it's so full and wavy."

"What about a butterfly now?" Su added next. "I mean, they must be hard for you to know! I want to see how you see them!"

"I know what a butterfly looks like," Toph retored, snorting in self-accomplishment. Slippery little creatures as they might be.

"Show us!" The youngest replaced the paper sheet and Toph pinned it down in place.

"They're very light and fluttering, but they're like this," Toph dropped the brush down and twisted it around in loops.

The girls laughed out loud and Lin rushed to her side.

"No cheating! You're not trying!"

"I think it would be much more interesting if you tried to create things you know through metalbending, while having your eyes closed. It would be the same thing as you're asking me to do here." Toph replied, still pushing the brush down. She was certain that was what butterflies looked like.

"We could try to draw with our eyes closed," Su said, already breathing out a laugh. "I tried to draw a face like that once. It was so funny. Everything was lopsided!"

"Let me show you," Lin held Toph's hand gently, guiding it to the water flask, tapping the brush twice and moving their hands to the right, where the ink flask was. She dipped the brush down carefully and up again, flipping the paper sheet and gushing air to Toph's face. "Feel my movements, all right?"

She started with the body, a line with gentle waves that was just like Toph knew most bugs looked like. Lin was purposefully trying to make a flowing line to allow her to feel the shape, and it made her think of ants, but slightly longer? (She could have asked to draw ants.) Lin moved the brush to the upward end, where she had drawn a rounder shape for the head, and now made two arches for the antennae.

"Ants have antennae as well."

"As do bees," Lin agreed, moving Toph's hand back up, to the water flask, those two taps, and then moved it to the right, further this time than before. It was another ink flask. "The wings are the most beautiful thing about butterflies. They have a lot of shapes, but normally I paint them like this."

She painted the wings, wide arching lines that met at previously painted body of the butterfly. Toph searched that spot, to find the lift of ink trail on the paper where the wings met the body, but obviously smudged the cold fresh paint on her fingers.

"Sorry. I was looking for the body."

"It's all right, and yes, that's where the wings meet."

"Your fingers are all black now!" Su smiled, scrubbing for something and returning with a rag she brushed over Toph's hand, as her other hand was still held on by Lin. "I always paint my butterflies in all colors. I love to put all the pink and blue and green and everything in them!"

"That's why you moved farther to the right," Toph pointed out.

"Hm?"

"You changed ink color."

"Oh," Lin's grip eased however slightly in her surprise, almost like those butterflies' fluttering. "Yes, I did. I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you."

"I got it. What color did you paint it in?"

"I painted it blue," Lin replied, her tone still dropping. Su's breathing wavered as well, contrasting too much with how she was just a moment ago. Before Toph could ask them what was wrong, the youngest spoke:

"How can we show you what colors look like?"

"I know lots of colors."

"But how can we show them to you?" Lin asked, both girls now sharing that sudden, simple question.

"Katara wears blue all the time. Zuko red, we wear green, and Aang wears yellow and orange, doesn't he? I know colors."

"That's it!" Su nearly jumped, running around the table to Lin's side and pretty much ripping the older girl from her place. Toph turned as the girls stomped their way outside the room, Su's hastened whispering certainly sounding like nothing but a rumbling mumbling to Lin as well.

They ran to the kitchen, then to their rooms, shouting Toph to remain in place. They took a couple of minutes, and dropped one or two things on the way. One of them was round and was decisely a fruit. She felt the sugary scent of it. Yes, it was-

"Orange!" she shouted, as if Toph needed the announcement to tell they were back or that she was holding an orange. "See? See! It's orange!"

"This is what orange looks like!" Lin added. "It's fresh, and bright and very sweet."

The scent filled her senses. She wasn't particularly fond of oranges, but the scent was indeed quite pleasant.

"I've brought you this," the older continued. The paper sheets were pushed away from Toph and something clanked in their place. Toph could tell what it was with a casual tap over the table. "Wait! Don't spoil the surprise."

"It's a candle."

"Mom!"

Lin lit a match, sparking a flame that immediately caught the candle wick alight. It was one of Lin's scented candles.

"You can't have it lit for long! It'll mix up the scents!" Su alerted.

"Don't move now," Lin asked, holding Toph's hand towards the flame.

"I know what-"

"Wait! You need to feel it." She did as she was told, knowing perfectly well what was going to happen. The warmth was safetly growing on her palm, very differently from when her feet had been burnt. This was a pleasant type of heat. "This is red. The flame is also orange like Su showed you, but the warmth makes it red."

"But it's also yellow! It's all about hues, and hues are very important. Here," Su blew out the candle swiftly, waved the burnt smell away and replaced Lin's hold with her own, stuffing Toph's hand with something, or _somethings_ , a lot of them. She could feel it squashing if she forced her hand.

"Where did you pick up corn?"

"Nevermind! You see, yellow is really fun! It jumps and is like these small grain type of things, soft and round and fun. Also, it's fresh!"

"It's not, it's warm," Lin corrected. "Yellow is not fresh."

"I also have this!"

"That's mine!"

"It's for mom!" Su made her drop the maize and guided her to a small vase, fresh earth at the base and strong grass growing. A couple of flower seeds would sprout shortly. "Earth is brown, and grass is green. When it's very early in the morning and the grass feels very fresh and cold, it's all moisty and cold, that's light green!"

"We also have dry earth, which mixes the two, brown and green. It's more like the rough texture of... well, dry earth."

"And forests!" Su squealed. "The night time fresh air in a forest, that's what deep green looks like! You know, mom?"

"Black is... well, it's just like the ink we use most of the time. It's strong, slightly acrid, like it feels like it can clog up your nose sometimes."

"White is the opposite! It's just like cotton! Fluffy and puffy and makes you want to lay on it! Clouds are just like that! They're very white."

"Another one. That rustling, calm sound of the sea?" Lin added. "That's-"

"Wait! I know!" Su interrupted, sprinting her way out the room again and returning what could only have been two seconds later. Lin grinned, so Toph could only guess that she had brought back with her. She soon found out, when the girl stomped to her side, throwing something that nearly clasped to Toph's ear.

"You are-"

"Shh!" she hushed her, soft finger over her lips. "Listen!"

It was cold and incredibly smooth, but from that alone Toph couldn't get what it was. Abiding to Su's demand, otherwise she would be shushed again, Toph heard a rustling distant sound, like a soft breathing, that seemed to increase by each longer moment she listened to it.

"It's the sea!" The youngest couldn't hold her excitement. "It's just like Lin was saying! You can really listen to it now!"

"What's this?" Toph tried to hold what Su was pressing to her ear, but the girls stopped her.

"That's blue," Lin answered. "That's sea blue. It's pretty, isn't it? Blue is a very beautiful color."

"And when it's very sunny, it shines so much! It's little glittering all around, very very bright! When things are very bright, it's like they're very cold. I mean, you wince at cold, don't you?"

"I think it's more like frowning, but a good type of frowning."

"Girls..."

"Either way, sky blue is similar! I love sky blue. But it's more fresh. Like this!" Su puffed to her face, making Toph smile.

"Girls..." she tried again, managing to lower whatever was on her ear and grabbing both girls' attention. "What color are your eyes?"

They exchanged looks. Toph could tell by how fast the movement was and how it waved the air like a whip.

"I know they're green, sillies. But what color are they?"

She felt Su smile first and the young child hopped back again, going towards the kitchen.

"Lin. What color are your eyes?"

"They're pale green."

"So it's like Su said, dew in the morning grass?"

She smiled. "Well, kind of like that, yes."

"It's b-"

"I'm back!" Su announced her return, jumping to Toph first thing. "Here!"

"You're squeezing a lemon, you dummy! That's not how your eyes look like! Or well, if I think about it, maybe that's exactly what..."

"It's fresh! My eyes are a special type of green, which means they also have yellow! But it's a different yellow from the other one I showed you, so I brought a different yellow! See, this adds to this..."

"Su, what are you doing?" Lin scolded, waving her head. Toph could guess what it was, as once again her hand was brought to Lin's gardening vase she kept in her room and the youngest was now squeezing the lemon to get a couple of drops out. The acidic, fresh scent (how many times had she heard that word in the past minutes?) filled her sense of smell as her sense of touch was focused on the textured grass.

"That's how my eyes look like. They mix the green and the yellow like this. They're pretty, aren't they?"

"That's not how they look, Su..."

"Yes it is!"

"Girls," Toph spoke above them, holding to both children and smiling. "Apparently, I didn't know color at all. Thank you."

"Now you do," Su replied, bloating in happiness. "They're all very pretty, aren't they?"

"They're beautiful."

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the end

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 **Author's Note:** Many years ago, I read one of the most beautiful fics up to this day. I am suddenly saddened because I can't seem to find it again, and I fear it had been deleted along the years. Regardless, the feeling of it will forever be imprinted in my mind. It was a truly beautiful and touching fic.

So, when I thought about an idea to try and write a Toph fic of my own, I couldn't stop from unwillingly/unconsciously gravitate towards something that resonated with that fic, which revolved around Toph's perception/seeing the world and seeing colors. I tried to write my different take on it. Hope you liked it.

The scene with the signing of the official thing with the Gaang was inspired by the hilarious little fanart thing with everyone's signature, Toph's being a messed up swirl. It's so sweet and hilarious.

Written to a lot of nightcore songs, finished to Synthesis songs from Evanescence in nightcore version.

 **Thanks for reading,** reviews and correction to english/typos are encouraged. Disclaimer at the end but obviously don't own Avatar Legend of Korra or The Last Airbender.


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